torpedo tubes with eight torpedoes, two launchers were mounted on the deck and the third was in the bow, below the waterline. The ship's main armor protection consisted of a curved deck that was on the flat portion, increasing in thickness toward the sides to , where it sloped downward to the side of the hull. The conning tower had sides that were 50 mm thick. Modifications The ship was modernized in Wilhelmshaven in 1903; work lasted until 1905. The ship's armament was significantly improved; the four L/30 guns were replaced with 15 cm SK L/35 guns with an increased range of . A secondary battery of eight SK L/35 quick-firing (QF) guns was installed in place of the L/22 guns, and six SK L/40 QF guns were added. Service history Irene was the first protected cruiser built by the German navy. She was ordered under the contract name "Ersatz " and was laid down at the AG Vulcan shipyard in Stettin in 1886. She was launched on 23 July 1887, after which fitting-out work commenced. She was commissioned into the German navy on 25 May 1888. In the summer of 1888, Irene joined the fleet that steamed to Great Britain to celebrate the coronation of Kaiser Wilhelm II. She was assigned to the I Division, along with the ironclad corvettes and and the casemate ironclad . The Kaiser's brother, Prince Heinrich commanded the division, his flag flying in Irene. The fleet then held training maneuvers in the North Sea under command of Rear Admiral Friedrich Hollmann. Over the winter of 1889–1890, Irene and the II Division of the fleet went into the Mediterranean to escort the Kaiser's yacht, Hohenzollern. Prince Heinrich remained in command of Irene during the cruise. The Kaiser made state visits to Turkey and Italy, and called in ports throughout the region, including Athens and Venice. Irene and the rest of the squadron returned to Germany in April 1890. In August 1890, Irene again escorted Hohenzollern to Britain, to participate in the Cowes Regatta. Directly thereafter, the two ships steamed to the island of Helgoland to celebrate the ceremonial transfer from Britain; there, the entire German fleet joined Irene and Hohenzollern for the ceremonies. In late November 1894, Irene was dispatched to Casablanca to protest the murder of a German businessman in the city. She then proceeded on to Asian waters to join the German naval